Although Morocco has a long history of decentralization at the municipal (and provincial) level da-ting back to 1960, this contribution will focus on the current decentralization reform at the regional level (the so-called “advanced regionalization” reform). The 2011 reform reduced the number of re-gions in Morocco from 16 to 12, and established directly elected regional assemblies to replace the previously indirectly elected ones, thereby creating a new political arena over which the various ac-tors fight for influence. As opposed to the municipalities, the regions now hold vast developmental responsibilities. Based on interviews with key informants as well as a review of the legal framework and numerous reports, this paper seeks to explore the politics around the main features of the “ad-vanced regionalization” reform in the areas of governance, finance, and regional planning. It also discusses the relationship between decentralization and deconcentration reforms in Morocco. The paper concludes that given the complex legal and institutional backdrop, the developmental impact of the newly created regions and their assemblies is hard to identify. It argues that the way in which the advanced regionalization reform is being designed may in fact constitute a trap for elected representatives. The strong central state involvement in regional planning over which they do not have much control means that the they will most likely not be able to fulfil their electoral promises, as projects will be delayed, or simply not funded. Indeed, the “advanced regionalization” agenda in Morocco could be said to represent an exercise in “upgrading authoritarianism” (Heydemann 2007), as it provides new spaces for political competition through elections, while at the same time maintaining the power of the makhzen, the power structures surrounding the King. The paper’s innovative contribution to exist-ing knowledge lies in showing how this upgrading is achieved through the clever creation and use of legal ambiguities, the launch of a host of competing programs and planning tools, and the establish-ment of more powerful parallel (deconcentrated, sectoral) institutions.